"Urgh..." Susumu had only been traveling through the desert for a few minutes, and already she was starting to feel exhausted. As she walked, however, she came across a familiar figure.

"Now where did I drop... Oh no! I can't remember where I lost that lamp!" Martcha was hovering just above the ground, scanning the sand for something. Her eyes lit up, however, when she caught sight of Susumu. "Oh! Hello, Susumu!" she greeted. "I see you've gotten a new outfit. It suits you! ...Oh, are you feeling alright?"

Susumu put on a brave face in front of Martcha. "I-I'll be fine!" she replied. "Just... A little tired, that's all! Anyway, what's wrong? Did you lose something?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Martcha answered. "I've lost... Something very dangerous, in fact. Oh, but allow me to explain. Many years ago, there was a genie by the name of Jeremy. He... Caused a lot of problems for the people of Neksdor, and they called me to help them. Of course, I was able to seal him away again, but... Now I've lost the lamp I sealed him in! ...If the wrong person were to get their hands on it..."

That last part set up a red flag in Susumu's mind. "H-hey, Martcha? Why don't I help you look for the lamp?" she offered. "Trust me, there's... Someone here that we do NOT want to find it."

"Oh, you would do that for me? Thank you!" Martcha seemed pleased. "If we split up, it may be easier to find it."

"Sounds like a plan, Martcha. Let's do it!" While Susumu stayed behind to search here, Martcha flew off towards the town. "...I just hope I can find it before Saff does..."

Meanwhile, however, Saff was walking through the desert alone, still moping over what had happened. "Princess Louie... Why would you reject me like that? Why... WHY would you choose... That PEASANT over me, the highly honorable Prince Saff? My brothers will all laugh and call me names now!"

As Saff was walking, however, he heard a voice. "Heh, having some girl trouble, are you?"

"W-who said that?!" Saff looked around, but all he could see was a lamp laying in the sand. He picked it up and looked at it more closely. "Was it you?!"

"Gah ha! You bet your fuzzy ears I did!" The voice said again. "And I can help you. With my power, I can give you whatever you wish! But you'll have to help me first. All you have to do is let me out of here."

"Anything I want, huh?" Saff paused for a moment. "With this, I could get Princess Louie to like me! I-I'll do it!" And so Saff began to rub the lamp.

Before long, a strange blue mist started to fill the area, and Jeremy appeared from the lamp. "Gah haha! Geez, how long's it been?! Look out, Neksdor, cause Jeremy's gonna rock you!"

"Heh, yeah," Saff said nervously. "Now, about what you said before. I want Princess Louie to like me!"

Jeremy just stared at Saff for a few seconds, before bursting into laughter again. "Gah hahahaha! What, you actually believed that?! I lied, you idiot! Later, kiddo!" And with that, Jeremy flew off toward the town.

"I... He just... What..." Saff stood there in silence, until Susumu approached him. "Y-you?! What are you doing here?!"

"A better question would be, what are YOU doing with that lamp, Saff?!" Susumu demanded. "Give it back, now!"

Part of Saff didn't want to give the lamp to Susumu of all people, but part of him also didn't want to admit he had just been tricked. Eventually, however, his pride won out, and he became angry again. "Fine! I didn't even WANT the stupid thing anyway!" He threw the lamp on the ground and stormed off.

Susumu picked up the lamp, brushing it off before putting it on her bag and heading towards the town. "Gotta find Martcha now... I just hope Saff didn't do anything..."

Susumu was feeling even more hot and exhausted by the time she got into the town. She was immediately greeted by a dark-haired girl with glasses, dancing near the town's gate. "Ra ra ra~! Hello there~! Welcome to Neksdor Town~! Oh dear, is something wrong? Don't look so pale, dear! Come on! Let's all sing and dance together! Ra ra ra ra~!"

"T-thanks, but..." Susumu didn't have the energy to sing or dance, so she just kept walking. As she was walking through the town, however, she was approached by a shady-looking man with bright red hair. "Eheh, excuse me, Miss," the man said. "but you're looking... Particularly ill."

"...Eh?" Susumu brushed her hair out of her face. It was true that the heat was getting to her, but... "And what are you gonna do about it?"

"Luckily for you, Miss, I happen to be a merchant myself," the man proudly proclaimed. "And I think I have a solution." He reached behind him, producing a bottle filled with some sort of red liquid. "This potion can cure anyone of any ailment! ...But, of course I can't just give it to you. The price is 1000 gold!"

"Wha- Thousand?! I don't have that much!"

The man paused to think for a minute. "...I'll tell you what. You seem like a nice enough girl, and you are in need. 800 gold! But that's as low as I'll go. I need to eat too, you know!"

"...Alright," Susumu took some gold out of her bag and handed it to the shady man. "I hope this is worth it..."

The man's eyes lit up as he handed over the potion. "Oh, trust me, Miss, it certainly will be! Pleasure doing business with you!"

Susumu put the potion in her bag and continued walking. Before long, she came across someone in a cat costume talking to a bear woman. The woman seemed... Upset. "Oh, it was just terrible! That awful Jeremy, he came right down and scooped up all my treasure! But... I thought the Great Sage sealed him away many years ago! Who could have released him?"

"Um, excuse me," Susumu spoke up. "My name is Susumu, and I'm on a mission to defeat the Dark Lord Azamir. And, I think I know who might have released Jeremy."

"Hey, you're out to defeat the Dark Lord?" The person in the cat suit asked. "Me too! My name's Neal. I guess this makes us allies, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..." Susumu smiled. "Yeah, it does! But..." Susumu pulled the lamp out of her bag. "Jeremy was released by this guy named Saff. But, don't worry! I'm a friend of Martcha's. And, with her help, we can seal him away again!"

"Portia, do you know where Jeremy went?" Neal asked.

"Well, I don't know exactly where he went..." Portia began. "But, I saw him fly away to the east! He's still gotta be there now, right?"

"Well, you heard the girl, Susumu!" Neal gave his tail a shake in preparation to take off. "There's a really big cave in the east too. Let's go see if Jeremy is there!"

Neal darted off at top speed, but Susumu trudged along behind him. Geez, it was hot here...